Family Affairs!

If, in France, the world of offshore racing is all abuzz with the upcoming start of the legendary Route du Rhum, on the island of Saint Barthélemy, the members of the St Barth Multihulls Association, are also in full swing. And for good reason, as in less than two weeks the starting gun for the 14th edition of the St.Barth Cata-Cup will resound. Emilie Aubin, Vincent Jordil, Laurence Hourticq, Élodie Ghezzi, and the entire staff for the event, are ready to welcome the first containers filled with F18 catamarans, and put the finishing touches on the final details in order to perfectly host the 58 duos registered to race in the regatta this year. Several of these tandems feature family members who decided to race together, and enjoy the fabulous framework of the event, which has always sailed under the colors of conviviality!

Cédric and Laurent Bader, Bob and Marc Baier, Frédéric and Anne Boc-Ho, Patrick and William Carro, Paulo and Martin Gabella, Michel and Benjamin Mamzer, Jonah and Fenosoa Raveloson… this year, as in the past, there are family-based teams racing in the St.Barth Cata-Cup. If some are brothers, others race as a couple, which is the case for Frédéric and Anne Boc-Ho. Having raced together in the 2010, 2011, 2018, and 2019 editions, these Bretons will be back, hoping to make up for their most recent attempt, which resulting in being forced to abandon during the tour around the island. This greatly impacted their ranking in the overall classification, and deprived them of their hopes to do better than their eighth place in 2011. “Globally, we are more at ease in lighter winds. Once again, we are motivated to fight for a better place in the final rankings, and also present a challenge our son, Arthur, who usually starts slightly faster and has the advantage of being young,” jokes Frédéric, who, racing with Brieuc Mégret last June in the Raid Emeraude, won by just 41 little seconds ahead of…Arthur Boc-Ho and Laëtitia Lefèvre. “Arthur and I sailed together twice in the St.Barth Cata-Cup, in 2012 then in 2013. This is the first time we are going to compete against each other in this event. It will be a great race within the race,” promises the director of Propulsion Sailing.

A Race Within The Race

Same story for Emmanuel Boulogne, who will be competing against his son Jean. “We are often competitors. However, I think that the results are less important for him than for me, but I also think he will have a hard time beating me in Saint Barth this year!” quips the Frenchman, the only sailor in the history of the Cata-Cup to not have missed a single edition of the race since its debut in 2008, the year in which he sailed to victory with Tanguy Kervyn, before racing primarily with Vincent, his twin brother. “The St.Barth Cata-Cup is, for me, THE regatta of the year. I regularly compete in different championships but this is really the challenge that counts more than the others, and it’s this one that represents 100% fun!” notes Boulogne, who will sail on November 16-20 this year in tandem with Mathieu Marfaing, who raced last year with his son Jean.

Having Fun, The DNA Of The Regatta

“After having sailed together regularly for ten years, with, among others, four appearances at the St.Barth Cata-Cup between 2011 and 2016, we have also had quite a few opportunities to confront each other. For the moment, let’s just say I haven’t had much luck, but I desperately want to beat my father!” comments Jean Boulogne, who for the first time will sail in tandem with American Charles Timeo, also a regular at the race. “We met  about two weeks ago in Florida, at the F18 worlds. He’s terrific. I think we will have a lot of fun together. We are, in any case, on the same wavelength, as we both impatiently wait all year for the month of November  to take part in this regatta!” concludes Jean, who  sums up the overall sentiment of the 110 sailors expected on the beach in  Saint Jean in just two weeks.